No Place She'd Rather Be
by Bloody Sapphire Blade
Summary: She thought he was in danger. He wasn't sure how to tell her, but in the end, she thought that there was no place she'd rather be. NaruHina


BSB: I'm just gonna say that I hope you enjoy this one-shot, because this is one of my favorite pairings. I was listening to a song called _Better Than Gold_ by Yolanda Adams when this idea hit me. The song inspired me, so I decided to write this fic. And I finally got around to correcting those few mistakes in here. Please R&R.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Never have. Never will. **

**No Place She'd Rather Be**

Hinata ran through the woods carrying a folded piece of paper. It was roughly about 6am and still dark out, but these little details, Hinata seemed completely oblivious to as she raced quickly along the forest flooring, dodging unearthed tree roots, low hanging branches, tree trunks, and any other obstacle that dared to obstruct her way. Her feet never missed a beat. She had only one thought occupying her mind right now.

"Naruto," Hinata said barely loud enough for the word to be qualified as a breath much less a whisper. Concern etched in her face. The grip on the sheet of paper, held secure by her forefinger and thumb, tightened considerably as her mind reverted back to the words written on it:

_Hinata,_

_Meet me by the waterfall. Come alone, and please hurry. It's important that you get here as soon as you receive this note._

_Naruto _

'_I must hurry,' _Hinata thought and pushed herself to go faster. _'Naruto needs me.'_ When she reached the waterfall, she searched the area for enemies before stepping into the opening and frantically searching for the blonde. Her breaths came out short and quick. The running had exhausted her. Maybe running at top speed all the way there wasn't such a good idea.

"HEY! HINATA! UP HERE!"

It was Naruto's voice. Hinata followed the voice with her eyes and the first thing she saw was Naruto's orange pants. Soon she made out the rest of him as her eyes traveled further up. Naruto had seemingly chosen to the highest branch in the tree that was able to support his weight. The tree just happened to be the closest to the waterfall. The spray of the water droplets produced a sparkling aura around the energetic blonde as they caught the tiny rays of light from the barely-risen sun.

_God, he is hot_. Hinata blushed a light tint of pink. Did she just think that? She shook the thought from her head before her imagination could take it any further, as she fought the rising heat in her cheeks. _'I will not allow myself to do anything embarrassing,' _she thought to herself. She was 17 years old now. Her fainting spells were over, and she would not go back to that again. _'Now focused on the situation at hand. Naruto needs your help, not your affection,' _she scolded herself. Then she noticed that she'd just been staring at Naruto. _'Oh. Naruto!'_ she thought as she snapped back to the present, remembering that he needed her for something important. _'Wait. He doesn't look like he's in any kind of danger……'_

"Naruto, what was so important—" her words caught in her throat as Naruto landed a mere inch in front of her. He'd jumped the span of the waterfall, which was pretty amazing, and landed with such grace and precision. Training all of those years really did pay off.

"I wanted to tell you something. Come with me," he answered her unfinished question and grabbed her hand. His hands were in black leather, finger cutout gloves was the only thing that Hinata's brain could perceive before her heart rate picked up the pace her brain seemed to lose as it turned to mush. He was so close to her that she could feel his warm breath blowing across her morning-chill cheek. Hinata opened her mouth to respond, but nothing came out, and by that time Naruto had picked her up bridal style and jumped across the river that the waterfall poured into. Hinata felt herself blush ten shades darker. Being held by your long time love did NOT help her heart rate or the butterflies that suddenly appeared in her stomach. Suddenly, she was forced to let out a breath that she didn't realize she was holding when Naruto used his chakra-powered feet to jump into the tree he'd been in when she first arrived. She closed her eyes tight, buried her head in his chest, and threw her arms around his neck out of reflex as he began to climb higher in the tree, jumping from branch to branch. "Hinata," Naruto called her name causing her to pull her head from his chest. She looked up at him with a small blush on her face. After realizing what she'd just done, she was pretty embarrassed about the iron grip she had around Naruto's neck. (Not that it looked like it affected him in any kind of way.) "Don't be scared," he assured her looking her directly in the eyes, " I got you." He smiled. Hinata's blush deepened as she nodded and gave a feeble smile in response. Then she loosened the grip around his neck.

Hinata gazed up at Naruto's profile. She was glad that his attention had turned back to climbing the tree. Now she could stare at him without him noticing. He'd grown _very_ handsome over the past years. His golden hair had grown longer, but somehow it still managed to become even spikier. His crystal-blue eyes were brighter and hinted at an immense amount of attained knowledge. His voice had deepened and was not 'annoying,' as Sakura had put it, anymore. (As a matter of fact, most females thought it to be very sexy.) His body had become firmer and more rigid because of the larger, more defined muscles that came from hard training.

Hinata had always thought that Naruto was cute, but now—the way he looked _now _was _**breathtaking. **_Once barely-noticed-Naruto was now Konoha's most eligible bachelors.

"We're here," Naruto said, pulling Hinata's attention back to the present.

Hinata cast Naruto a questioning glance as he set her down on the branch. When she looked up at him for some kind of confirmation, she noticed that he'd caught her in an intense stare. She tried not to fidget, but in the end she ended up losing the war and averted her gaze to his sandaled feet a second or two later. For some reason, she felt kind of embarrassed about the way he looked at her. It made her feel… _naked. _Like her was staring right through her and into her soul… like… like he saw _her_. _'Oh, no. What if found out how I feel about him and is here to break it to me gently.'_ Hinata fought back the panic that began to well up in her mind. _'That's impossible,'_ she tried to convince herself.

"Hinata," Naruto said softly.

'_But if it is so, I will be strong and accept his decision. I just hope that this doesn't end our friendship.' _Hinata lifted her head up a bit just to let him know that she was listening. She was not ready to look into his eyes again. She was afraid. Afraid of what he might see in her. Afraid that he would see something he didn't like. Unfortunately, Naruto was a head taller than she was, so that put his muscled, firm, inviting chest in her line of vision. She blushed as soon as she noticed what she was looking at. And that fishnet shirt underneath his totally unbuttoned, orange and black jacket was _**NOT **_helping the situation at all!

"Hinata, look at me," Naruto said.

Hinata just couldn't do it though. She wanted to, but she just couldn't. "Naruto," she said, staring out across the treetops. _'Please don't make me do this.'_

"Hinata," Naruto repeated, this time his voice was louder, soft and pleading, yet commanding. Hinata couldn't resist this time. Something in his voice just wouldn't let her. She immediately looked into his eyes. She opened her mouth to apologize, but Naruto put his finger up to her lips, signaling for her silence. Hinata complied closing her mouth.

"Hinata…" Naruto began walking backward never taking his eyes off of her. She noticed that he'd grabbed her hand again and was pulling her along with him. He stopped when his back met the tree trunk. Then he sat down with his back resting against the trunk. He let his leg dangle off one side of the branch while his right was propped up on the branch. Once he was settled, he gently tugged Hinata's hand guiding her to sit with him. Hinata was a little nervous about sitting between Naruto's legs, but she gave in to his will knowing that his intentions were completely innocent.

Hinata sat letting both her legs dangle on the same side as Naruto's left leg. She had to angle her body a bit to avoid touching his leg, "Hinata, there's something that I've been wanting to tell you for some time now or ask rather." Naruto shifted his weight against the tree.

Hinata could tell that he was nervous. She began to become a little edgy herself. Seeing a nervous Naruto was very unnerving, but freaking out was not going to help the situation. So, the Hyuuga took a deep breath, stilled her thoughts, and continued to look Naruto directly in his eyes. Whatever he was about to say, she would be ready for it. She gave him a small, encouraging smile. "Don't worry, Naruto," Hinata said, softly. "I won't judge you. Go on."

A wide grin swept across Naruto's face. That sweet childish grin that Hinata loved so much. It was one of the things that hadn't changed about Naruto over the years, and that was one of the reasons that she loved him so. Naruto nervously scratched the back of his head. He took a deep breath and began, "Hinata, it took me a long time to gather up enough courage to say this, but here goes. And you don't have to say anything. Just hear me out before you respond."

Hinata nodded agreeing that she would.

Naruto took a deep breath. Accepting Hinata's response, he continued, "Hinata, do you remember those years that I was away with Jaraiya?"

Hinata nodded again.

"Well, while I was away, I got sort of lonely with just me and the pervy sage. Every time I was lonely, I'd think back to all of my friends that I'd left behind, but no matter what or whom I was thinking of, my mind would always fall back to a certain person. Then I started thinking about why I missed that certain person so much more than I missed anyone else. It took me a while to figure it out, but Hinata, I know now. I know now why I enjoy this person's company so much, yet when I'm around her it makes me a nervous wreck on the inside. I know why when she touches me I melt. I know why when I hear her voice makes my heart flutter. I understand the need to protect her at all cost. I know why she's so precious to me. I've finally figured out that I'm in love with her, Hinata, and for a while, I couldn't figure out how I'd tell her, so here I am asking for your help."

"My help?" Hinata repeated in disbelief. Here was the love of her life telling her that he was in love with someone else and her wanted her help with expressing his feelings to her. Hinata directed her eyes out toward the horizon again afraid that he'd see the hurt in her eyes. _'This is what he wanted me for? To ask me this?'_ She could feel the tears welling up inside, but she fought them back down. She'd promised herself that no matter what she'd accept him and his decision to be with someone else. Once again, she took a deep breath and faced Naruto with a bittersweet smile. "Of course, I will help you. What exactly is the problem?"

"Well, you see, I don't know how to tell her. I get really nervous when I'm around her. I'm afraid that it may come out the wrong way or something."

"Naruto, I've learned that waiting and thinking about it over and over again only makes it more difficult to go through with, so the best thing is to do it and not worry about the consequences, because if you don't you'll only end up regretting it later." _'Take it from me. I know from experience,'_ she thought bitterly. _'I was so busy thinking about the repercussions that I've just lost the love of my life without him ever knowing that he meant that much to me.'_ "Trust me, the girl has to be crazy not to want to be with such a kind, caring, and loving person such as yourself."

"Thanks, Hinata. So you're telling me not to think about it, just do it?"

"Um-huh."

_Well, here goes nothing_. "Hinata, I love you and I have for a long time, and I know in my heart that I always will."

As soon as those words left his mouth, everything just seemed to have stopped. Her eyes went wide with shock. Then slowly but surely, the wheels began to turn again. "S-so t-t-the girl that you were t-talking about was m-me," Hinata gasped as if someone had suddenly knocked the wind out of her. For a moment, she couldn't remember how to _breathe._

Naruto nodded his head. "I didn't how to tell you directly, so I tried the indirect approach."

Hinata regained her composure and once again turned her face to gaze across the treetops. She could feel tears well up in eyes, but this time she didn't try to stop them.

Naruto couldn't see Hinata's face, so reading her reaction was totally out of the question. "It's cowardly, I know," Naruto continued, "but it was the only way that I could get it out without stumbling all over myself."

Hinata turned and faced Naruto with her teary eyes. Naruto immediately panicked. What had he done? He didn't mean to make her cry. "Look, Hinata, if you don't feel the same way then you don't have to say anything. I'm sorry if I said anything to hurt you. I didn't mean to. Honest."

Hinata didn't respond. She just stared at Naruto, the tears still streaming down her face.

Naruto's face was downcast. "So I take it that you don't feel the same way?"

Hinata's hand caressed Naruto's cheek causing him to look up at her. "You just don't know how long I've waited to hear those words, Naruto-kun." Then she moved in closer and kissed him. After a while, the two broke away for air. "I love you too," Hinata said slightly panting.

"I'm glad to hear it," Naruto responded and gave Hinata a quick peck on the cheek. Then his arms encircled her waist and pulled her toward him so that she was lying in his chest. "Look," he nodded out toward the horizon.

Hinata obeyed and looked out toward the rising sun. It was beautiful. The breathtaking array of colors were astounding. "It's amazing, Naruto." A smile crept its way across her lips. "This is why you brought me up here?" She looked up at him. Even upside down, he was hot.

"Um-huh." He nuzzled her neck and she giggled.

"But what if I had rejected you?" _That wasn't meant to come out. That was just supposed to be a thought,_ Hinata reprimanded herself.

"I would still want to share this wonderful moment with the woman that I love." He smiled and her grin widen as he kissed her forehead.

Then she began to watch the rising sun again thinking that there was no place that she'd rather be.

**BSB: Like it? Hate it? Not sure? Review and tell me please. For now, Goodday, mates! **


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